ABSTRACT
Younger people are developing new life-styles and relationships that will reshape the system of inheritance in years to come. This is especially true of three life-styles that are very popular among young adults today: childlessness, cohabitation, and remarriage. All three have direct bearing on estate plans and insurance policies. Childlessness means heirlessness. American women of the baby-boom generation have a greater life expectancy than their husbands and will outlive their partners by longer than ever before. Antenuptial agreements are a legally binding way for married people to evade the obligation. People waive the right to one’s estate by signing a contract before they are wed. The rising popularity of antenuptial agreements parallels the rise in divorce and remarriage. Antenuptial agreements are common among older people who marry late in life or remarry after being divorced or widowed. This kind of agreement appeals to people who remarry, because it permits them to keep estates separate for their respective grown families.
